The commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service in London introduced on Thursday that she would step down, below stress from the mayor over experiences of bullying, misogyny and racism on the power.
In a press release, the commissioner, Cressida Dick, made clear that she had misplaced the help of London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, lower than two weeks after a report from England’s official police watchdog described London law enforcement officials routinely making jokes about rape and exchanging racist messages.
Ms. Dick’s management had additionally come below intense scrutiny after the kidnapping, rape and homicide of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old London lady, by a Metropolitan Police Service officer in March 2021. The killing fueled broader considerations about misogyny inside policing, and violence in opposition to girls and women.
“It’s with big disappointment that following contact with the mayor of London right now, it’s clear that the mayor now not has adequate confidence in my management to proceed,” Ms. Dick mentioned in her assertion on Thursday. “He has left me no selection however to step apart as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.”
At Mr. Khan’s request, Ms. Dick, 61, mentioned she had agreed to remain on for a “brief interval” whereas the service transitioned to a brand new commissioner.
Mr. Khan mentioned on Thursday that he had made clear to Ms. Dick final week “the size of the change I imagine is urgently required to rebuild the belief and confidence of Londoners within the Met and to root out the racism, sexism, homophobia, bullying, discrimination and misogyny that also exists.”
“I’m not happy with the commissioner’s response,” he mentioned in a press release.
“On being knowledgeable of this, Dame Cressida Dick has mentioned she might be standing apart,” Mr. Khan continued. “It’s clear that the one approach to begin to ship the size of the change required is to have new management proper on the high of the Metropolitan Police.”
A onetime beat cop within the metropolis’s West Finish, Ms. Dick turned the first lady to steer Scotland Yard in its 188-year historical past when she was appointed in 2017.
A graduate of Oxford and Cambridge, she led the police power via a tumultuous interval that included a terrorist assault on London Bridge and close to Borough Market that killed eight individuals in 2017, a devastating hearth that 12 months in Grenfell Tower, a high-rise residential constructing, that killed 72 individuals and, extra lately, large-scale protests over legislation enforcement practices.
“I’m extremely happy with my workforce and all they’ve achieved,” Ms. Dick mentioned. “Since Day 1, tackling violence in all its kinds has been my No. 1 precedence.”
However she added: “The homicide of Sarah Everard and plenty of different terrible instances lately have, I do know, broken confidence on this incredible police service. There’s a lot to do — and I do know that the Met has turned its full consideration to rebuilding public belief and confidence.”
After the police watchdog report was issued, the police service mentioned that the actions detailed inside it did “not symbolize the values” of the power. However Mr. Khan instructed the BBC this week that he needed Ms. Dick “to win again the belief and confidence that’s been each knocked and shattered as a consequence of those instances.”
On Thursday, Mr. Khan thanked Ms. Dick for her “40 years of devoted public service,” and her work in lowering violent crime. He mentioned he would work with Priti Patel, the British dwelling secretary, on the appointment of a brand new commissioner.
In a press release, Ms. Patel thanked Ms. Dick for her devotion to public service and mentioned that, as the primary feminine police commissioner, Ms. Dick “exemplified the more and more various nature of our police.”
“She could be the primary to say she has held the position throughout difficult instances; but for practically 5 years she has undertaken her duties with a steadfast dedication to defending our capital metropolis and its individuals — together with throughout the unprecedented interval of the pandemic,” Ms. Patel mentioned.
Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, mentioned in a statement that Ms. Dick had “served her nation with nice dedication and distinction over many many years.”
“I thank her for her position defending the general public and making our streets safer,” he mentioned.
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